1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a housing apparatus which houses a magnet to guide a body-insertable apparatus which is inserted into a subject to pick up an image in the subject.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in the field of an endoscope, a capsule body-insertable apparatus (for example, a capsule endoscope) in which an imaging function and a radio communication function are set is proposed, and a body-insertable apparatus system which acquires an image in a subject by using the capsule endoscope is developed. In order to observe (examine) the inside of the subject, for example, the capsule endoscope is swallowed from the mouth of the subject. Thereafter, until the capsule endoscope is naturally discharged, the capsule endoscope is moved by peristaltic motion in a body cavity, for example, in an internal organ such as a stomach or a small intestine, and the capsule endoscope functions to pick up an image in the subject at, for example, 0.5-sec intervals.
While the capsule endoscope moves in the subject, images picked by the capsule endoscope are received by an external image display apparatus through an antenna arranged on the body surface of the subject. The image display apparatus has a radio communication function to the capsule endoscope and a memory function for images, and the images received from the capsule endoscope in the subject are sequentially stored in a memory. A doctor or a nurse displays images accumulated in the image display apparatus, i.e., images of the inside of the gastrointestinal tract of the subject on a display to make it possible to observe (examine) the inside of the subject and to give a diagnosis.
As the body-insertable apparatus system, for example, a medical apparatus guidance system which spirally forms a projecting member on an outer surface of a casing and inserts a capsule endoscope having a magnet fixed to the inside of the casing into a subject, forms a rotating magnetic field for the capsule endoscope from the outside of the subject, and controls the rotating magnetic field to guide the capsule endoscope to a desired portion in the subject is known. In the medical apparatus guidance system, the position and direction of the capsule endoscope inserted into the subject are changed by the rotating magnetic field applied from the outside of the subject (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-255174).
When a permanent magnet is used as a means that guides the capsule endoscope, the body-insertable apparatus system which guides the capsule endoscope can be realized with a simple configuration. In this case, the permanent magnet is brought close, from the outside of a subject, to the capsule endoscope inserted into the subject, and the posture and the position of the capsule endoscope in the subject can be changed by an operation of a magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet. The permanent magnet to be brought close (i.e., a magnetic field is generated for the capsule endoscope) to the capsule endoscope in the subject is selected from a plurality of permanent magnets having different magnetisms.
A doctor sequentially displays a series of images picked throughout a desired region in a gastrointestinal tract serving as an observed region on a display to observe the inside of a desired gastrointestinal tract of a subject. In this case, the doctor must guide the capsule endoscope inserted into the gastrointestinal tract to change an imaging field of view in the gastrointestinal tract and cause the capsule endoscope to pick up images throughout a desired region in the gastrointestinal tract.